Eurozone GDP (gross domestic product) in the last quarter of 2020 fell less than initially expected, according to data from the European Union’s statistical agency, Eurostat, released on Tuesday (16).
The agency reported that the economy of the 19 countries that use the euro contracted 0.6% in the fourth quarter from the previous three months, falling 5.0% on an annual basis. Eurostat had previously estimated a quarterly contraction of 0.7% and 5.1% in annual terms.
Eurostat also reported that employment increased by 0.3% in the last three months of 2020 compared to the previous period, after a quarterly increase of 1.0% in the third quarter, but it was still 2.0% below the same period of the previous year.
Declining industry
Eurozone industrial production fell more than expected in December, under pressure from lower manufacturing of non-durable capital and consumer goods.
According to Eurostat, production fell 1.6% in the monthly comparison and 0.8% in the annual comparison, as much of the economy was shut down to prevent the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Economists polled by the Reuters news agency expected a drop of 1% from the monthly comparison and 0.3% per year.
The production of capital goods, used for investments, decreased by 3.1% on the month and year-on-year, while the production of non-durable consumer goods – usually food or clothing – decreased by 0 , 6% over the month and 3.9% over the year.